: , ¥ hy BANE 7 CONTENT MARKETING Woo DE.NN. WHY DID WE WRITE THIS GUIDE? We wanted to give you the most extensive and detailed guide of advanced content marketing techniques available today. This resource is chock full of tactical, imme- Giately actionable ideas that you can implement in your own business — to start building a community of fans and followers, to increase engagement and traffic to your website, and to drive sales. We've included everything from planning to writing to promoting your content so you have all the information you need to all be insanely successful and prosperous on the Web —all in one place! WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR? If you've only read about content marketing or have already begun to get your ‘hands dirty, if you want to learn more about producing and publishing content, this Advanced Guide To Content Marketing is for you. I you've already mastered the basics of Content Marketing, such as starting a blog or producing videos and podeasts, and want more, this guide is for you! ‘The Advanced Guide To Content Marketing is for anyone looking to take their suc- cess on the Web to the next level: bloggers, business owners, eCommerce sites and even affiliate marketers. This guide provides you with dozens of actionable tactics you can put to work today to begin engaging your ideal customers with high-value content. HOW MUCH OF THIS GUIDE SHOULD YOU READ? To get the most value, yow'l want to read the whole thing! While you may not need to apply every section to your content plan today, you will gain an understanding of the concepts in each part. Content marketing can be started by implementing just one type of content at a ‘time, So start with your blog. Then add one naw type of content at a time, The key is to integrate it into the rest of your marketing plan, so it works together like cogs in a machine. To start, you may read whatever section applies to you now, but it can definitely benefit you to read it all. a BUILD A STRONG FOUNDATION In this chapter, youl lay the groundwork for a powerful content marketing strategy that can help you build your: ‘business. Hfyou're ready to jump into content production and want to start writing right away, Iunderstand. But at some point, ‘you'll need to define why you ereate content and what ‘you're trying to achieve with it. The decisions you make in this chapter will give you a strong foundation for your con- tent marketing plan — and meke you stand out as a content publishing guru, HOW TO GENERATE THOUSANDS OF CLICKABLE IDEAS FOR YOUR CONTENT ‘As a content marketer, you need te be able to generate an unending stream of interesting, unique, and valuable content ideas. Let’s face it, that’s big task! Soto make sure you have what it takes, this chapter offers seven practical tactics for creating your own idea-generation system, so you can easily come up with all the ideas you need. HOW TO PLAN YOUR CONTENT FOR MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY By now, you have a working content marketing plan anda list of ideas. I's time now to start planning your content. (Thisis the fun part.) In this chapter, you'll continue to expand on the Content Plan you ereat- ed in chapter 1. You'll develop a working Editorial Planner in which you can plan and track your content, and after it’s published, record results. You'll also begin planning content for the next few months, LEARN TO WRITE CONTENT LIKE A PRO Its time to start creating content. But not just any content. Were talking relevant, creative, engaging content that actually gets read. ‘And that’s exactly what youll get in this chapter. Here we cover the six steps of the creative process, in depth and with specific examples showing ‘you how to turn your idea into a finished piees of content. 12 CONTENT WRITING SECRETS OF PROFESSIONAL WRITERS One of the biggest struggles content marketers have is producing enough content and simultaneously keeping the quality high. That's something professional writers must work through on a daily basis. So in this chapter, you'll learn 12 secrets of professionel writers: the tips and tricks that help them consistently produce steady stream of, high-quality content. TEMPLATES FOR QUICK AND EASY CONTENT CREATION In this chapter, you'll find 12 tried-and tue templates that content “writers have used sucessfully for years. These templates are in- valuable for finding the right structure for the type of content you're creating. ‘Why is this important? Because when it comes to communicating ‘your ideas, the way you organize and present them is as important as your ability to put them into words. OVERCOMING COMMON CONTENT MARKETING ROADBLOCKS Because content marketing involves more than publishing a few blog posts, and because content ereation demands a huge commitment of time and resources, there are a lot of roadblocks that can slow your progress. Some of them are obvious: dealing with writer’s block, for instance. Others stem from wrong thinking about what content marketing is and how to manage it. So in this chapter, we'll talk about ways you can overcome ten com- mon obstacles. (If you proactively put these strategies to work before you get stuck, you ean reach your goals in record time.) THE OTHER SIDE OF CONTENT CREATION: OPTIMIZE FOR SEARCH Planning and writing your content is only part of the process. You also need to optimize it so people can find it in search engines. In this chapter, you learn the basic tacties you need to use to make sure your content is wall received by search engines and readers. PROMOTING YOUR CONTENT TO INCREASE TRAFFIC, ENGAGEMENT, AND SALES ‘The secret to content marketing boils down to three things: creating great content, making sure it gets found in search engines, and pro- moting it to your followers. You've learned the secrets of creating great content and making sure it ranks well in search engines. Now let’s talk about ways to promote ‘your content. DRIVING BUSINESS OBJECTIVES WITH CONTENT: 5 SIMPLE STRATEGIES FOR MONETIZING YOUR CONTENT ‘The optimization and promotion tips we've shared in the last two chapters can makea big difference in your traffic levels. But once people are on your site, you need fo convert that traffic into sales. In this chapter, you leam five methods for monetizing your content ‘without advertising. Not all of them will work for every business. But all of them are valuable strategies that are being used success: fully by other content marketers. SIMPLY PUT, USE THIS GUIDE TO HELP YOU TAKE YOUR CONTENT MARKETING TO THE NEXT LEVEL TAKE ME TO DOWNLOAD CHAPTER ONE PDFWV Welcome to my first chapter in the Advanced Guide to Content Marketing, In-this chapter, youTl lay the groundwork for a powerful content marketing strategy that can help you build your business. Ifyou're ready to jump into content production and want to start writing right away, Tunderstand, But at some point, you'll need to define why you create content and what you're trying to achieve with it. These are the decisions that give your content foeus and clarity —and make you stand out as a content publishing guru. Why not make those decisions new so you ean lay a strong foundation! ‘When you're done with this chapter, youl know your objectives, your target audi- ‘ence, and your strategy. You'll also know on the technology and work flow that will help you meet your objectivas. ‘So you can confidently plan and create your content, knowing you're creating the type of content that will engage your ideal customers and grow your business. ‘tis a strategy of producing and publishing information that builds ‘trust and authority among your ideal customers. Itis a way to build relationships and community, so people feel loyal toyouand your brand. It is a strategy for becoming recognized as a thought leader in your STEP START A NEW EXCEL DOCUMENT 38 M4 */H| Strategic Plan Reacy | 73) IN ROW 1. TYPE “CHANNEL PLAN.” IN ROW 2, TYPE IN THE HEADER FOR EACH COLUMN [sver 2a | CREATE BORDERS AROUND THE 7 ROWS BELOW THE COLUMN HEADINGS Faia =| — If you wish, format the box with your brand colors. Do NOT start filling out the Channol Plan yet. You need to make other decisions first. [S=FSB) create A BOX FOR YOUR CORE MESSAGE [ster G | UNDER THAT, CREATE A BOX TO RECORD AND TRACK YOUR BUSINESS OBJECTIVES See eet ccna eee aceon Ferrel UE eer Oe Rca eee peg Doras Pe ee eC eres pera eases Tike any mai Teese Bro ee enE acces ESR Ce as eee Tce Sy Pee ra : cree Deere eget ese Cezar tt WD Marketing. Generate inter: ee encase rene ate er et nee oe eee era ere mages ere eee ee eet wee Te ees bere estes Name one primary goal and two or three lower-level goals for your content marketing aes ame the exact outcome you'd like to msprovement, stic time frame for achieving ea eect oe Bonne weiner Se ese eee te ec BE ec Os pgs ere eee econo apes Now ereate a benchmark that vill allow you to tack funure results, Under “Benchmark, srs, number of elick-thranghs, or some other number that will b At this point, you're deciding on the business objectives you hope to achieve with content marketing, including the business impact of that Pe Rates Dn eet au eee ea results, Once a quarter, plan on reviewing resulls of your decisions so you know which strategies are working and which need tweaking. E HOW CONTENT MARKETING FITS IN OVERALL MARKETING PLAN Your plan will be as individual as your own business, But here aro thr rete Senne Been see ese sec) ips and useful information, but how-to information ald use a wide variety of content — blog posts, poi ore Boose ee oars fl eee Ci) ates reer cgre ene SY fyouhave another plan, write it out in this spot, so you can easily n Sart YOUR CORE MESSAGE paseo tsa tocese ec aoe Peseta ease got stale quickly, To avoid repeating your eore message ad nauseum — eee Pree re ee hen an aeer o eee eco eeaa eco capac setae ss WORKINGMOMSONL Mission: “To supply the tools that can give EVERY working mom the ability to lead a healthy, wealthy, and more balanced/blended lifestyle.” Core Message: You can live the life you have alays dreamed of, the life you and your family deserve. Secondary Messages: business, health & well-being, kids, relationships, ae Mission: To provide affordable, effective heat- mapping technology that helps people improve on-page conversion, Core Message: You can boost your website's profit within 30 days Secondary Messages: web design, conversion optimization, blogging for (You can refine it overtime, but get something down on pa- Poe ee eee See EE eS Ce sag oe ae eter ge nace Berne sac eeeeo Ceee ceeees ces pean eet you ersated above, list those fives brands. See eee Dae een eee eee Cm Coker eee Sr cere ere ee eee ess eet Bac este nitentis posted. See ea eee ees ee eee eee ees nota of the calls to action used in different ty ot gle or by your readers if it just rehashes everything else on the Internet. To cere eat ores e i panan eaeto a oertees nal is to come alongside the competition and still offer something different. So look for Se eae ee esr! Peer See ences Seca Sats eo ae er a ene Brera eio) entiator.” Type it into your planning document below the competitive MARKETING STRATEGY WHO YOU V W SELECT THE NICHE. The truth about marketing is that fyou target everyone, you'll hit no one. So you need to define the niche that yo ed in the topic you write about. want to serve. Thisis a specific group of people who are interest- WY REFINE THE NICHE to be specific about who you write for. For example, “Animal lovers” is a niche, but it’s ral- atively broad. “Cat lovers” is amore targeted niche and could make a better targat. BY CAN YOU NARROW THE FIELD EVEN MORE? A micro-niche is a subset of your chosen niche. For example, “cat breeders” or “lovers of hairless cats” are micro niches in the “cat lovers” niche. When picking your target andience, choose as small a group as possible that is large enough to help you mest your marketing cbjectives. AY ENTER YOUR DECISION IN THE CORE MESSAGE BOX IN YOUR CONTENT PLANNER Just because you want to write for a particular market doesn't mean they're a good fitfor you. Before you settle on a specific niche, make sure it's a viable market. W ASK YOURSELF: W Are there enough people in this group to meet your sales and community-building objectives? W Do these people want or need the information you provide? BW Will they benefit from your product/service? W Do youunderstand what triggers their buy response? BW Can they afford your product/service? W Are they accessible through email and social media? BW Are they open to receiving your messages? DO A GOOGLE SEARCH TO VERIFY THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THE INFORMATION YOU PLAN TO DELIVER: W Visit Google adwords. BW Type in your keywords ® Verify there are at least 10,000 monthly searches. A market isn’tjust a type of person, It’s a group of people who you ean connect with. So you need to look for signs that your target audience sees themselves as a unique group of people. If they gather together and if there are lists of email addresses that target this group, good markat 1 Find the associations or groups they belong to. you havea 1 Find out which social media sites they use. 1 Identify magazines or other media they subscribe to. Check to see if you can rent the list. 2 Find at least three events they attend. Check to see if you can attend, or if possible, speak at or have a booth at the event. ‘You should never write content to a group. It should sound as if you're writing to one person — your ideal reader. So you need to know who that reader is. And to do that, you need to focus on the details. For this exereise, don't pick a range for the age or income level. Be specific. Create one person who represents everyone in your target audience. So when you creat= content, you can write to this one person. ¥W LIST THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF YOUR IDEAL READER Base B® Location W Gender BW income level W education level ® Marital or ferily status ® oceupation 1B Ethnic background LisT THE PSYCHOGRAPHICS (VALUES AND MORAL CODE) OF YOUR IDEAL READER B Personality WB Attitudes BW Values WB Inierests/hobbies BW Lifestyles WB Behavior GIVE HIM OR HER A NAME. aa IF YOU CAN, FIND A PICTURE. Take a picture of a real customer ‘Visit http: morguefile.com for royalty-free images Visit heep://awu time.com for paid and/or free images. ‘Your ideal customer avatar won't be used in your marketing. It’s just for you to know who you ereate content for. But that dossn’t mean you should skip this exercise, The better you know your targot audience, the more engagement you'll got. YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER ‘esearch ly. (paid) This program filter conversations from 1,000 days of social data for insights {nto influence, sentiment, demographics and psychographics — to help you connect with your target audiences, manage brand perception, collaborate across networks and increase your so- ciall modia ROL. SSmetrics. (paid) Helps you know your customers better by tracking “events,” or actions peo- ple take on your website, such as “Visited Site” or “Completed Checkout.” Google Analytics Tells You What Happened, Kissmetrics Tells You Who Did it. ‘orrester (free tool, paid service) This tool helps you profile your customer's social computing, behaviors so you know where they look for content online. STRATEGY CRAFT YOUR CORE MESSAGE INTO A BENEFITS STATEMENT OR TAG From now on, your core message will servs as a guidepost for every piece of content you pro- duce. IFa topic or idea doesn’t support your core message, don't wasto time on it. y 9 y y 9 TURN YOUR SECONDARY TOPICS/MESSAGES INTO KEYWORDS Inchapter 3, you'll create categories on your website that ‘maks it easy for people to find your content. Each catozo- ry will be based on one of the secondary messages in your ‘Core Message box. For now, you simply need to turn each of your secondary ‘messages into a keyword or phrase that could be used as a category heading. y x DECIDE ON THE SPECIFIC TYPES OF CONTENT YOU WANT TO CREATE ‘You can create one typo of content or multiple types. Your options include: ts: Articles that talk cbout issues related to your core message and secondary mes sages. They can range anywhere from x00 words to 2,000 words, depending on the format you choose and what your readers prefar ‘This is just the top of a KISSmetric blog post. As you can see, it looks a lot like the articles you find in a magazine. azine articles: Like a blog post, these posts talk about issues related to your core mes sage, but instead of publishing them digitally, you publish them in a print magazine. That mag~ azine may be your brand's magazine, a trade (iudustry) magazine, or a consumer magazine such as Ine,, Fortune, Time, ete, Not all content is housed on your website. You can ereate a channel on YouTube or ‘Vimeo that provides another access point to your business. Some content marketars upload videos to YouTube, then reposted on their blog. Others create a video blog, or vlog, that lives on YouTube. Podeasis: Podeasts are andio articles or radio shows, often published in iTunes, Stitehor Radio, or Blabrry. Podcasting is gaining renewed popularity now because people who don't have time to read are able to listen to articles while in their daily commute or other activities. mnars: You ean present information to a live audience during webi nars and teleseminars, then use the recording and slides as content on your website, in newslet ters, and in programs/products. ip orkshops, intery [fis information, it’s content. And it’ easy to recyde this information, incorporating it into other content types to add value. Powerpoint pre jous: Offer the them on your website. Turn them into infographies. Use them in blog posts. Upload then to Slideshare, Tutorials, guides: You can ereate a Web page that provides links to additional information, essentially making a lesson plan for learning something new. This is a great way to bnild author- ity in your area of expartise, Remember to tell people what to do if they need additional help. (See how easy itis to drive business objectives with your content!) es; Infographics are creative presentations of facts and figures rathor than dry-as- toast reports. If they're well done, they are also very sharable. VisnalLly is a great resoures for simple infographies. it rs and ts: People want useful information that helps them make better decisions. That's why white papers, special reports, and other researched information ‘make such great premiums and free offers. You can periodically offer these as a value-add to your followers, or you can offer them as an incentive for signing up to your email list, Content marketing is about building relationship. What better way than to send your content to people's inbox rather than making them visit your website every day? A newslet- ter also helps you bnild your email list, which allows you to make email offers as wel nooks, books and produets/programs: Ebooks and books are a great way to build au- thority and trust. You can easily produce a short ebook: and sall it on Amazon. Then turn it into a PDF and offer it on your website as well‘TIP #1: Ifyou're just starting your content marketing strategy, start with your blog. Then as ‘you gain expertise, add one or two new typeof content ata time. ‘TIP #2: Before settling on a type of content, double check your choice: Wis it something that is easy for you to create? B® Do your followers want to receive information in that format? Now you: At the top of your planning document, in the first column of the Channel Plan, write the type(s) SET YOUR PUBLICATION SCHEDULE From now on, your core message will serve as a guidepost for every piece of content you pro- duce. If a topic or idea doesn’t support your core message, don’t waste time on it. 7 ‘Some bloggers and vioggers publish every day, while others publish every month, Select something in that range that works for you. Be sure to think about how much time that ‘will allow you to create other types of content, participate in social media, and get the rest of your job done. Record your decisions in column E, “Frequency.” Do you want to set a word count for written content and a time length for webinars/pod- casts? Or do you want to allow each post to be whatever length it needs to be to cover the topic at hand? Both approaches are acceptable, but you need to set the standards for your ‘brand’s content. Write your decisions in column D, “Structure? ‘What tone or style do you want your content to have? Chatty? Friendly? Short and to the point? Professional? Brash? Will you allow slang or profanity? The choice is yours. Record your decisions in column F, “Tone.” OeMUAH IAI E Wordpressiorg is one of the most popular platfornis for a website/blog combination. Bie nr Ar rae ee Be eg Rare ee ee PDFS sold on your website inay work for ebooks and specie reports. You may want to publish them on Amazon as well. In column B of your Channel Plan, record the channels that you'll use to publish each type of Don’t try to be on every social media platform, Chaose the platforms where your reer ee tase Search on Facebook for pages that are similar to'yours or target the same people, Check out the engagement levels. If engagement is good, you may benefit from a Facebook Boe See eis oe ata eae Spey Raia cuore Se else B Ly eee wail from adding Twittar to your content plan. Are you a B2B business? Look for one or two LinkedIn Groups that relate to your eee Peo eee oes a eos on neat amore Coe search engines: Fa eer eee ea RS een ead marketing. This wil allow you t set up Author Rank for your content writers. Consider creating @ Gaogle+ business page for your business. This step is optional, but if you choose to do it, you can set up your business as a publisher of content. poreg eee ete ee hC Cent ne eee eerencce ent Bo eae eee Cees ec aee Cesc en Nee Ree haste srr monse: Select “Insert.” Do this as many-times as you need. Add the social media channels you've chosen in column B, “Channel.” Beside it, under “Content Typas,” enter “SMM,” which means Social Media Marketing. By roee teen rene oe teeters ten SUN Re etre ere Rte One iad Be se ee nea cae Cleats CoM nike ae isles eB gtd eo een en rumen nremern teeth ening this is still tre (and T haven't heard otherwise), then having a website and blog — each with sepa- pec ener et encarta etree eer aes Ba Maa ited (Geng tated} HP Games ED Suggested ses Homo congue Ata | | Web Sic ey SE TR em oc9ee iw | -@ -SIGE-S-el es Get convesson option, analytics and copwrting artks FREE —Johnhee THE DAILY EGG imization, analytics and copywriting th Brice nerg si beta Tce ee me Cece ee kee ta Re ee eet mare ger ce ea cae Bre Noa enacts Cee nace Reco RCS rn a Co esa eC Be Rr erie Ree uci ro ee ea eee tat ead eee ceca your website rank better in the SERPs. HOME BLOG ABOUT DIGITALMKTG SOCIALCONTENT COPYWRITING Does Length Impact the Engagement of Content? ‘This blog is in-g subdirectory within the business Website, So it Shows up as a navigation tab. eC ae Ce ee ead (Blog posts) are added each week. This helps the website move up in search results, even for a eae omar bul eae This is nota decision that needs to be recorded in your strategy page. It does, however, help you Pee ecu For instaiies, this decision could impact the namo you give your blog. (Well cover that in the next es reece eet ete oer eee Se eee are reer out and don’t have a website yet — you need to purchase'a separate URL, (Well cover that in-a cas) Sistas serene Rc see eS an ene eae cee ce eee ce cide to eal it the [your business name] blog or [your name] blog. ‘your blog posts will also be sent out as a newsletter, you could name your blog after the newsletter. Seon ern OCr sete ec crerre ree Reern ces er eee teere eget rg Che en ote cera eae oes rece tries aCe Ce seb aig (eect Coe Web a bionic ks site, this step is for you. Ifnot, skip down to section 6, Content Management. Dg ere ee Oc er Moe Rese Pea ec ew eg etc ‘couraged if the “porfect” URL isn’t available, Consider using a longer URL or coming up with a Start with a domain bee geared Se Nes eMC any ad Bree es Bra ee With a.goed track record and 30-day, money-back guarantee Bee Eras: eres Pr eens fener eS econ ea eect tesa ete cen Bord Caregen ae a eerie Cea heehee ree Ge This is a unique series of code numbers (like a password) that translate a domain or subdomain intoan IP address, making it acoessible on the Web. pore Sterne Arora er ac tart te Scene sce ssc Mase Ce Ree cg account. (For example, they look like NS, BLUEHOST.COM and NS2. BLUEHOST.COM.) SCRE hans Tat er Rei abies oes SRO aot uy Domains Domains =~ | Buy&Sel~ Tors ~ —Halp = i (3 Domain Sale! Domain Details (@ Save 208" on .COM, .NE = Set the Nameserver here Great news! The new (NS Managers ve a In case you're new to content marketing and don’thave a website yet, I want to touch on the Peete ene ay pee Aer eee eee eg Eo cere ere Log into vour administrative control panel, also known as the cPanel: Bee aaa eee Basekt CCT Quicktnstell Site PHP PEAR HP seesuider Canter jottwaré: | Madulas «Packages Configuration RubyGems Optimize Fantastico _phaiin! Deluxe EZContig es eee pen eee eet oa rca Click the radio button beside it. @ FanasticoHome ‘contolPane! Home = NyoQh darabases © brewition © WordProee urpare now? Click on any of tre tame on the left fo get more detals, ‘Youll be taken to 2 WordPress installation page. Select New Installation, Fill out the options, then click “Install Wordpress” at the bottom of the page. Then click Sere eel cad Bed Ce Sa oc ar ere Oe ce ae eee ene Beem sta tee eM Ate aT ree e Rea PAO Crm aC ‘Bnt, fortunately, it’s not hard to figare out. You can aceass your WordPress admin page at wun, yourURL.com/up-admin using the user name and password you set in the ePanel. In this admin panel, you can create pages and blog posts. Ifyou choose to have static web pages Reece eased od eee eee ee eno ee ee cee mele aa categories for each of your secondary messazes, so visitors ean easy find the articles that inter- eee ee CR a eee ts ae ee een wel ee) INTENT MANAGEMENT SET OBJECTIVES FOR EACH CHANNEL, OR TYPE OF CONTENT W EACH CHANNEL CAN (AND SHOULD) HAVE A UNIQUE PLACE IN YOUR CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY. SET ONE OF THESE 7 GOALS FOR EACH CHANNEL: drive traffic to another channel (your blog, for example) engage build community generateleads inform educate build thought leadership But don’t limit yourself just to these seven. You ean set any goal yon like. Be creative, and ‘think of unique ways to engage people and build relationship with them. WRITE THIS OBJECTIVE IN COLUMN C, “OBJECTIVE,” OF YOUR CHANNEL PLAN. Se Objective eS Ting eatin ae [Raidconmanits eae DECIDE ON THE APPROACH YOU'LL TAKE IN EACH CHANNEL Each channel is used in a different way in your communieation plan. For instance: ‘You may decide to use Faccbook for en- 1: gaging people personally. To rfl: A Cae venkng nein hrs sb nil a Coca-eola did this recently by creating a ees Facebook post that related to a new advertising ‘campaign. All it did was aska thought-provoking question, and it got more than 200 shares and 10,000 likes. (Wo cokes were sold, but people got involved with the brand.) ‘You may choose to use Twitter for con- ‘etter tent curation, thought leadership and ‘Sewsefr ono Ear quotations. inns anon And maybe you like Google+ for discussing ideas related to your core/secondary messages. Hemmant defo aSEO Make that decision now. W Refine your decision about the types of content you'll post in each channel. Be as specific as possible about how you'll use each channel. 9 Also refine your decisions about the structure of your content. Consider the appropriate tone, or speaking style, that will help you achieve your objectives NOTE: ‘You want to maintain a single branded veice, but you can tweak that voice for different channels. Record your decisions for “Content Types,” “Structure,” and “Tone” in your Channel Plan. A few considerations that could help you decide... 1B Which followers are on each channel? 2B What are their expectations for marketers in that channel? 2B What type of contentdo they want or need? CREATE YOUR WORK FLOW. W SET UP MANAGEMENT OF YOUR CONTENT MARKETING. ‘Who decides on and assigns topics? How far in advance? Does this person maintain the editorial calendar or does the person producing the content? You may have one managing editor who does this, or you may let writers suggest ideas. DECIDE WHO PRODUCES THE CONTEN ‘You may have in-house writers who write all your contont, you may hire outside writers, or you may do it all yourself. Some companies even allow any employee to apply to be- come a contributing writer and write blogs in addition to their other activities. SET UP APPROVAL PROCESS. ‘Who edits and approves content after it’s produced? Generally, the managing editor also edits the content, provides meta-data to optimize it for search engines, and add pictures and other formatting. But in some organizations, one person edits, a subject matter expert approves, and yet another person approves the final article. Select a workflow that suits ‘your own business structure. ASSIGN TECHNICAL LABOR. ‘Who uploads the content? Does the writer, the editor, or a web specialist? And whe main- ‘tains the blog or content pages to keep them working well technically? ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROMOTING THE CONTENT. ‘Who will promote your content in social channels? Do you have a social media specialist, or will one person write, post, and promote. If you have more than one person doing these tasks, make sure the communication lines are open and everyone is one the same page. ‘That way your overall business objectives will be met in every stage of the process. REVIEW THE DECISIONS Y' ‘VE MADE FOR EACH CHANNEL In column A, you should have all the types of contentyou want to ereate as part of your con- tent marketing strategy. In column B, you should have the channels where you will publish that content: Include your website, blog, social media sites, and membership sites. Tn column C, you should have your objective for each channel. In column D, you should have a short description of the type of posts you'll publish in each channel. In column E, you should see the frequency of your posts in each channel. In column F, you should have the tone of your communications in each channel, based on your avatar and the expectations of people in those channels. In column G, you should have the primary action you want to drive in each channel. This will Brome nl cetag nee erase tre cea ane ie to rece Sora eee te Your strategy for creating Freee ec Ta ec ne. re its sions you've made so far have already placed you among the ranks of the best content m: here. Con Reruns iengaa! TAKE ME TO CHAPTER TWO DOWNLOADTn chapter , you made some decisions that will form the foundation of your content marketing plan. Already, you're ahead of the majority of businesses that have adopt ‘ed content marketing. But now that you have a plan, you need to be able to generate enough great ideas to make it work According to the {uy the two biggest challenges for content marketers are: # y ‘Notice that both of these challenges are related to the core problem of coming up with new ideas. ‘As a content marketer, you need to be able to generate an tending stream of inter ‘esting, unique, and valuable contont ideas. Let's faco it, that’s a big task! ‘Soto make sure you have what it takes, this chapter offers seven practical tactics for creating your own idea-generation system, so yoo ean easily come up with all the ideas you need TO START... CREATE A PLACE TO CAPTURE ALL YOUR CONTENT IDEAS. Ideas are finicky things. They can appear out of nowhere — and disappear just as fast. So it’s important that you create a place where you can collect ideas and have them on. hand when you're ready to plan your content. TITLE, “CONT! ccc co ror YOUR CO Column A: Idea Column B: Type of Content Column C: Possible Title Column D: Notes ‘you wish, format this row with your brand colors. NES Highlight the row below your column heads. (In the example above, that's row 4.) Click View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes to keep the column heads visible when you scroll. Seen Lvewsse mice orsowos ASN [aa coc ola nome N USING THIS PAGE TO COLLECT YOUR Dh As you work through this chapter, ideas for new content will likely pop into your head. That's a good thing, It moans your croative juices are flowing. From now on, when that happens, record your ideas on your new Ideas page. Don’t try to re- fine these ideas or make them presentable. Just jot th howrough (or ridiewlous) they may be n down as they come to you, no matter IDEA Work-Play Balance inthe Holiday Season Need a post an call to actions. Need for multi-touch campaigns if you want to connect. Need for multi-touch campaigns if you want to connect Productivity for Solopreneurs Respond to http: / /peacefulplanetcommunicationcom/2011/07/25 wh tm: jealous-of-men-tte-nat-what-you-think/ My point is that ! became most productive after a massive injury that meant I couldn't do any of the housework. Yes it's hard to juggle it ll and stl be productive. My Crummy Life and Other Tidbits: The story of my injury and the struggle for normaley Free report: quotations about marketing and sales, focusing on the 4c, 11 intent: community or bob ($8) CE Click through depends on readability. % of people read your website from a mobile devices your Wed page 12. accessible to them? This will give you an idea of how a typical idea log looks: messy and even unclear in sections. That’s okay. When it's time to sit down and plan or write content, no matter how messy it may be, this lists invaluable. Ona side note, when you're away from your computer, you may jot ideas in the notes app on your smart phone. But don't try to maintain two lists. To ensure you don't lose valuable ideas, you need to keep one master planning document. So when you return to your main computer, transfer new ideas from your notes app to the Content Ideas page in your planning document. NOW... LET’S SET UP YOUR IDEA-GENERATING SYSTEM ‘There are seven key tactics for ereating the right environment for new, creative ideas to flow: Put ‘them all together, and you have a powerful idea_generating systom. We use this word, system, fora reason. The process of coming up with ideas depends on a set of interdependent components that work together to generate the desired outcome, Its a bit like goars fitted together in a complicated machine. No gear carries the whols load. But ‘whon thoy all work together, the entire system works smoothly and easily. In the rest of this chapter, youl learn the seven gears that work together to create an idea-tich en- vironment. Take time to sot each of them up. Then take note of how much easier it is to generate.a constant flow of great ideas. Ready? Let’s go... SET UP GOOGLE ALERTS FOR YOUR PRIMARY KEYWORDS. MY Visins sri i To RY PUT THE TOPIC YOU'D LIKE TO MONITOR IN THE “SEARCH QUERY.” ‘SY CHANGE THE OPTIONS TO SPECIFY THE TYPE OF INFORMATION AND HOW OFTEN YOU RECEIVE THEM. AY CLICK “CREATE ALERT.” seartnien “ovonen: — oreesay . SET UP AN RSS FEED, SUCH AS FEEDLY, TO STREAMLINE YOUR ONLINE READING. W visit MY IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER. LOG IN WITH YOUR y GOOGLE SIGN-IN. CLICK THE MAGNIFYING GLASS ICON TO CONNECT TO YOUR GOOGLE READER, TWITTER OR FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS. AY iN THE SEARCH BAR, TYPE IN THE NAME OF YOUR FAVORITE BLOG OR WEBSITE. OR CHECK OUT THE BLOGS THAT FEEDLY RECOMMENDS IN THE “STARTER KIT.” SUBSCRIBE TO BLOGS AND WEBSITES THAT WILL KEEP YOU UP-TO-DATE ON TRENDS AND IMPORTANT NEWS, 4 & | THE VERGE | brerase aes enn rons ie ere Sie et (se) CHECK YOUR FEEDLY STREAM EVERY DAY. ‘W BROWSE THE ARTICLES TO KEEP UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR INDUSTRY. FOLLOW OTHER JNDUSTRIES TO KEEP UP WITH SOCIETAL TRENDS AND HOW THINGS ARE CHANGING IN OTHER INDUSTRIES, LOOK FOR INTERESTING IDEAS THAT YOU CAN WRITE ABOUT. LOOK FOR GAPS IN THE COVERAGE OF TRENDING TOPICS AND WHAT YOU CAN ADD TO THE CONVERSATION. WRITE THESE IDEAS IN YOUR IDEA LIST. 8 a wa KEEP AN EYE ON THOUGHT LEADERS AND COMPETITORS WY KEEP UP WITH WHAT OTHER CONTENT MARKETERS ARE WRITING. ‘ WATCH THE NEWS AND OTHER INDUSTRIES TO SEE IF TRENDS Bie Res teiee TO YOUR INDUSTRY OR AFFECTING OTHERS AY EVERY TIME YOU GET A NEW IDEA. TAKE TIME TO ADD iT TO “YOUR IDEA LIST. uD TUE aN SMU ae ens Google coe foment Re ee Rc ee ee De Ce ce CC Oa Pee ECU ce Cec ec ecco Poor coer Teatterae ray recaT ereer ore eae cin aa hls) enaog Seon 7) cin Meta ag sm uannna os Menang Pano) asaing Bos weemenemg¢n " ve wenn Borasng Seder 1 tananng Compa e) ns = Sc Mate ete 2) RELEASE YOUR CREATIVE MIND WITH BRAINSTORMS. ‘There are two ways to brainstorm new ideas: listing and mind ‘mapping. Let’s start with the list. THE LIST. ‘You may brainstorm any topie: broad or narrow. But if you start with a broad topie, you'll also ‘brainstorm broad ideas. To get specific content ideas, you want to narrow your topic before the brainstorm. AN THINK Don't worry about neatness. A brainstorm is about filling your page with ideas, not with having neat rows and eo- ‘umns. Fill in ideas as they come to you, wherever they fit. ‘Tf you ean place tham near related ideas, all the better, but don’t restrict yourself 2 LIST TO FIND YOUR B IDE As you review your list, some ideas will be generic, dull ideas. Mark through them. (Other ideas could show promise: they’re interesting or have a unique angle on your topic. Circle (or highlighé) them so you can easily find them again. ‘New content ideas are sometimes a combination of other ideas. As you review your list, don't just look for new ideas. Also look for ways to combine list items into an interesting piece of con tent. Add these connected ideas to your list and circle them. Other content ideas come from questions you may have about your topic. If you see something in your brainstorm that sparks your curiosity or raises a question, write down the question and. ‘circle it. It could make a good content idea. FIC IDE If your brainstorm includes broad ideas, perform additional brainstorms on those ideas to nar row their focus, Your goal is to find specific, detailed ideas for content. ‘As you brainstorm, be careful not to censor new ideas. Write down every thought that comes to mind, whether it seems valuable or not. ‘Sometimes your weird ideas foster a creative, fresh approach to an old topic. MIND MAP Amind niap is similarto the lists you created above, but they're more visual, mapping out the connections being made. Ifyou like pictures more than words, color-coded lists, and prefer to “ses” what you're talking about, mind mapping is for you. Foran example of what's possible, look at this mind map by 5 OUT At the end of each, write an idea related to the keyword. They may be subtopies or categories of ralated ideas, Or they may simply be ideas that connect in some way to your keyword. D MAP T As described in “List” above, review your ideas to find interesting topics for content. Be sure to consider unique combinations of ideas, as well as questions raised by your mind map. © YOUR CONT RULES FOR MIND MAPPING: ® There areno rules. B® You cam use a computer, paper and pen, paper and eolared pencils, or canvas and paint Youcan write, draw or doodle your mind map. ® You can make it black and white or color, plain or fancy. BW Every idea needs to be connected to a previous idea with a line s0 you can easily see how your ideas connect. A FEW ONLINE MIND MAPPING TOOLS: VISIT AND ENGAGE IN FORUMS forum is an online measage board where people can discuss a particular topic. For example, at right is a forma that discusses search engine optimization (SEO) topics. Each conversation is called a thread and any forum member can join and put in their two cents. Many forums have different categories of subtopies ralated to the main topic of the foram Your goal, then, is to find forums in your core topic so you can see what people are asking and what top- ies are on their mind. LinkedIn groups are forums for professionals. They may help you network with peers in your industry or, if yon ara.2 BOB seller, follow discussions among your target audience ‘To find groups that relate to your topic: @ aes Note the description of the group, the activity level (Very Active, Active, or no rating), and ‘whether any of your connections are members of the group. Content Marketing Profesionas Association (CNP y ‘Some groups are open forums — you ean explore threads without joining. Others, you'll need to click the Join Group button to seo discussions. ly Data cone Honbies cst Fonums Forum Hobbies 11a od Lesuras Some forums can be found in a Google search. y You may need to try different topies to get good results. y y‘Quorais a forum on steroids, Its sole purpose is to give people a place to ask questions. So if you want to know what topies are on people's mind, this maybe a goad resourea, o & Bes Reddit is an online community where users vote on content, comment on posts, and disenss ideas, Trending topics are at the top of the page, anda search bar allows you to find disenssions related to your topie. Hf you need ideas, this could be a great resource. y q y y /ISIT YOUR A REGULAR BA ‘Some people like to visit forums on a daily basis, say, on their lunch hour. Others visit once a week or so. Find a schedule that works for you. ow One of your key abjectives is to understand the conversations taking place abaut your aare top- ic. This will help you stay current on what people think about your topic and what information they are looking for y Consider writing something that addresses the comment, presenting your point of view. Record your thoughts and the URI. af the comment in your Idea list. ‘Write your question and the comment's URLin your list of topies. It could make a good thought piece. Consider connecting with them outside of the forum. You might be able to interview them cor use them as a subject matter expert in future content. ba.) PLUG IN TO THE ENERGY OF SOCIAL MEDIA You can get lots of ideas from your social media interactions — if you are prosont and engaged. (Being presont and engaged will not only make you a better content marketer, it will make you a better social media marketer too!) Part of the secret to this is to follow the right people. Look: for the thought leaders in your industry, the people setting trends and coming up with the ideas everyone else shares. These are the people to follow. THES 1A P FACEBOOK W TYPE YOUR KEYWORDS IN THE SEARCH BAR @ LOOK FOR GROUPS AND PAGES RELATED TO YOUR TOPIC Q Visit THE PAGES AND REVIEW THE POSTS ARE THEY USEFUL? IF SO, FOLLOW THEM. You can also search directly for the people you know are thought leaders in your industry. TWITTER TYPE #KEYWORD (THAT'S A HASHTAG FOLLOWED BY YOUR KEYWORD) IN THE SEARCH BAR. —___ ee ‘That will generate a list of tweats about your topic. Like this: Resistor feoneebmahatig MY IN THE PANEL ON THE LEFT, CLICK THE “PEOPLE® LINK. People a Ann tandiey tp: coertresbokcom ia: tual ra Pople ‘The stream of tiweets about your keyword will became a list of people who are tweating that keyword. @ CLICK ON EACH PERSON'S NAME TO READ THEIR DESCRIPTION AND REVIEW THEIR TWEETS AJ LOOK AT HOW MANY TWEETS THEY HAVE AND HOW OFTEN THEY TWEET It isn't worth following someone who isn’t active in Twitter. y CHECK THE NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS THEY HAVE If they rarely tweet buthave thousands of followers, then the number of followers doesn’t indicate influence. It means they bought followers, which means they aren't thought Ieaders, On the other hand, if they have a lot of followers because they make useful, thoughtful posts, then you may benefit from following them. @ IF, BASED ON YOUR REVIEW, A TWEETER LOOKS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT YOUR TOPIC, CLICK THE FOLLOW BUTTON. "| If you want to find people whose name you already know, simply type ] their name in the search bar. GOOGLE+ W TYPE YOUR TOPIC IN THE SEARCH BAR AND SEE WHO COMES UP. MY REVIEW THEIR PROFILE, FOCUSING ON THEIR DESCRIPTION AND POSTS QY iF YOU LIKE THEIR POSTS AND IF THEY LOOK KNOWLEDGEABLE. FOLLOW THEM rst og tat aceptsest posts ed The Great Che and Th Falling Restaurant eS Brian lark on Writing, Productivity. and Siting Dow to Dinner with Willam Gibson 30 Ways to Build the “Know, Like ard Trust” Factor that Growsan Audieree LOG IN TO YOUR FEEDLY STREAM. LOOK FOR INDUSTRY-LEADING BLOGS THAT ACCEPT GUEST POSTS SEARCH FOR THESE PEOPLE IN FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND GOOGLE+ Q/ CHECK OUT THE NAMES OF THE WRITERS. ‘@/ FOLLOW THEM, AND KEEP AN EYE ON THEIR POSTS EDIA S Alot of your ideas will come from posts you see in social media. But reading and following so- cial media can eat up a lot of your time. It might help to use an app that lots you view all your streams at onee and/or schedule your posts in advance. Here are a few suggestions: HOOTSUITE ART GE Schedule about 30 minutes a day to review your streams, read posts and interact with your con- nections. But don’t merely look at the posts people are publishing. Here’s what you need to do: wy LOOK FOR THE TRENDING TOPICS. MY PAY ATTENTION TO THE IDEAS BEING DEVELOPED, WHAT IDEAS ARE ADDED TO THE CONVERSATION, AND HOW PEOPLE RESPOND TO THEM JOIN THESE CONVERSATIONS I’sin these interactions that ideas will spring to mind. 2 2 START ENGAGING WITH THOUGHT LEADERS. Build relationships. Down the road, if you need a subject matter expert to give you a quote or interview, you already have access ta these people. STAY RELEVANT WITH NEWSJACKING Another great source of ideas is the news. But as a content marketer, you don't simply report the news. You employ an old journalist's trick called newsjacking. WHAT IS NEWSJACKING? Tes finding ideas within the news that intersect with your care ‘topics. This point of intersection allows you to produce rele~ vant, timely content from a unique parspaetive. Like this: 10 People Annoyed That On January 21, 2013, the big news was President Obama’s fieagaration PoiDiaxt inauguration ceremony. Any article that responded to this Rhyme event was coon astimely and relevant. People weren't looking for more reports about the inaugu- ration, thongh. They were looking for fresh angles or anter- taining responses to it. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innova- tion and howit empowers and inspires people around the world. How does that intersect with the inauguration? pean Social media usage, of course. Soit examined how Twitter users felt abouta particular aspect of the presidential inauguration, rently expecting something lke See how it works? Now you try... > UP WITH Fill your Faedly stream with news sources as well as industry blogs. Then skim them on a daily basis to look for big events or interesting news. ook ou TOP. ‘Look for industry, local or national activities that you can relate to your own business. 3B Do you write about social media? Review Facebook posts about the event. 3 Do you write about green products? Report how this event affects the green agenda. RESPOND TO 17 AS QUICKLY AS POSSI ‘Newisjacking requires immediacy. This strategy is not for you if you need two days to writea post and a week to get it approved. So don’t add newsjacking ideas to your Ideas list. I'you have the resources to respond quickly to news events, here’s what you do: y a y y Hfmewsjacking seems like a good option for your brand, keep a few thoughts in mind: yw a y Um BIE eonrerten as atlined in Seca accra CEG. Rregees PW lal Coroners: PAYAL MIN Ed Seong eee SCRE Ge Sreoeg es Ere norel TAKE ME TO TAKE ME TO CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER THREEFOR MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY ‘By now, you have a working content marketing plan and a ist of ideas. It's time now to start planning your content. (Thisis the fun part.) In this chapter, you'll continue to expand on the Content Plan you created in chap- tar 1, You'll develop a working Editorial Planner in which you can plan and track your content, and after it's published, record results. You'll also bogin planning con tent for the next few months. Ready to begin’? SET UP [OR REFINE] THE CATEGORIES FOR YOUR BLOG ‘Remember the secondary topics you set up in chapter 1? In Section 4, Step 2, you tumed each of these topics into a keyword or phrase. If ‘you go back to the Strategic Plan in your Content Plan document, you'll find them in the Core Message box under “Summary/Keyword.” Each of thase secondary topics needs to be a category in your blog. Ifyou already havea website with categories, double-check that your categories match the terms you selected for your secondary messages. If they do, you're set. ‘Skip down to Section 2, “Go deep with your Ideal Customer.” Ifyou don't already have a wabsite with eategories — or if your categories don't align with your secondary messages — you need to set them up now. Continuing with our assumption that you have a WordPress blog, here’s how to make that happen: IN YOUR WORDPRESS ADMIN PANEL, NAVIGATE TO POSTS > CATEGORIES E bestbecrd ENTER YOUR FIRST CATEGORY NAME Ifyou created short, easy-to-grasp secondary messages, Categones x this will be easy. dust type in your fi one beside “Name.” a If your secondary messages are questions or statements, ‘you'll need to use the terms you entered under “Summary | Keyword.” This should be a short, recognizable name to capture the main idea behind your secondary message. Remember, whatever you enter as the category name will show up in the sidebar of your website. ENTER THE “SLUG.” ‘The slug is what shows up in the URL of your category page: ‘The last part of this URL is the slug that you enter in this step. It should be: BW Lower case BW Only letters, nunbers and hyphens ENTER THE PARENT CATEGORY IF YOU HAVE ONE Categories can have hierarchy. In other words, you can create a category for Marketing and then create subcategories for Digital Marketing, Emeil Marketing, Content Marketing, and more, At this stage, you probably don’t have any lower-lovel catogories, so keop the default, “None.” ENTER SEO DETAILS Tohelp optimiza your ste, entara Title Tag, Meta Description, and Keywords for the category page. Let's say this is a category page for the topic, “Marketing,” ‘The Title Tag might be: J ‘Your title should be deseriptiva and no longer than 7o characters. Ir should also contain your keyword. ‘The Meta Description should be 150 characters maximum and should include a short descrip tion of the articles that you'll include in this part of your blog. Something like: For the Keyword, type in your catagory name. ENTER A TITLE AND INTRODUCTION FOR THE CATEGORY PAGE. ‘When someone clicks on one of the categories in your blog, theyll land on the category page ‘The title and introduction that you enter now will determine ‘how this page looks. Consider using the same title you entered in the SEO section above. Thon create a short, compelling description of the ay, information people will find in the articles you include in this section. You can use the same blurb you included in the Meta-Description above, but here, there’s no limit to length. We suggest two or three sentences. CLICK THE “ADD NEW CATEGORY" BUTTON TO SAVE YOUR SETTINGS. REPEAT FOR YOUR OTHER SECONDARY MESSAGES. that Idea will work its way Into every message you write. For instance, if your core message related to “optimization,” then every piece of content you 1 in some way to optimization. | ee will re You may develop two or three keywords that relate to your core mes- sage and then use those keywords liberally In all your messaging. This creates a strong, unified brand message across all platforms, regardless of the type of content -Y DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO ACHIEVE? @) IF | FOLLOW YOUR PROCESS OR USE YOUR PRODUCT, WILL | GET THE RESULTS | WANT? SY ARE YOU GOING TO BE THERE FOR ME IF | HAVE PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS? Per Eee tT We're trying to step up our customer support by cre oe e Rn oes ea on na ne ccrS provide the tupe of information that is most useful. Since you’ ee Cea er erica es Pace moe eco Ce Cen ea ern ee eet tere er Coma performed for you. Would you be able to carve out 30 minutes to eee nts. ‘BY PROBE FURTHER TO GET AS MANY REAL-LIFE DETAILS AS POSSIBL: EVALUATE WHAT YOU LEARNED W IN YOUR PLANNING DOCUMENT, WRITE oe THREE HEADINGS: ‘W) RECORD THE ANSWERS ACCORDING TO YOUR CUSTOMER INTERVIEW, Whar questions do your ideal customers ccna Vem een ce cn Sen eee T IN You Eos Serer Pubeetcerrere oer more e ene encon eee emer: ead, hold down the Alt key while hitting Enter. The cursor will move to the next ease you may net know the an Merri eerste ra zi eee Sears Serer co ene roe ce | | LA (4) CREATE YOUR EDITORIAL PLANNER. CETL iii CREATE A NEW TAB IN YOUR CONTENT PLAN EXCEL FILE, CALLED “EDITORIAL PLANNER.” Wee) Se Ready | Scot lo PREPARE EDITORIAL PLANNER PAGE Insow 1, name the page, “Editorial Planner,” In row 3, create the column heads. A: Date Column B: Type of Content Content Idea or Topic Column D: Title Col E: Objective Column F: Keywords FREEZE THE TOP PANES Place the cursor over the row number of the row below your header. (you're using our layout, that’s row 4.) Click to highlight the row. Then click View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes (the top selection). ‘This will keep your cohamns headers in view, no matter how far down you seroll in the document, PREPARE FOR YOUR FIRST PLANNING SESSION ‘Who needs to be in your planning sessions? If you are a: editor, writers, media producers, graphic artists, webmaster Teann. writer(s) and editor, talking on Skype or over the phone Fes all you, baby. R PUB In Chapter 1, you decided on the typos of content you want to ereate and the technology you'll use to ereate/publish it. (See the Channel Plan section of the Strategic Plan: Tab + in your Content Plan document). Check the “Frequency” column of your Channel Plan. Ifyou haven't already, set [Sporu/day_fJ specific days of tha week or month to publish this content, do that now. P ae ran [on tios pee ‘Based on tho type of content, your production schedule, and your available resources, how ‘much lead time do you need to be able to produce different types of content? Tae owen [ower Prone [os were] Poor feet ves roeec_[ev wee fecocroet roars | ___Jrears [oars _| Proce roars roar rveex_[rweec_| Let's back up for a minnta ‘Once a year, usually in December, you need to perform a high level strategy meeting to set your content strategy for the coming year. In that meeting, you'l: y Tfyon haven't already set your annual strategy, your first planning session should focus on that. ‘Then once you have your annual strategy, you'll hold regular planning sessions throughout the year to plan content for the coming weeks or months. When we talk about your planning ses~ sions in the rest of this chapter, this is what we're talking about. ‘Right now, your goal is to detormine how often you want to hold planning sessions. B® Tyouproduce a ot of content, you may need to meet weekly or bimonthly, ifonly to Keep tabs, on the volume of work being done, BH youproduce less content, one planning session a month may be sufficient. EDULE YOU CONTENT PLANN: ‘A few quostions you need to consider: 3 How many types of content do you plan to create? WP Do topics need to be approved? By wham? What is the timeframe needed to get approvals so content production ean begin? Based on your answers, choose the days you want to hold content planning sessions, Mark them. ‘n your calendar. NOTE: If you have a large team meeting face-to-face, and if you create a lot of content, the meeting could take an hour or more. If you meet virtu- ally with one content creator at a time, you may only need 30 minutes. Before assigning content, you need to approve a worldlow that will result in the best quality content for your brand. Two examples follow: M PUBLISHING TWICE A WEEK a rarer pmensiiee ara hkl caeaiee caeuthr he meer rates ore at J content warren for the next month. | SME REVIEW After the meetings conteiit wetters peodss'the planned content Sse ety re recov ed ara ec Fa cece e | connections mane Content is returned to writers for edits, then submitted to editor. : | corror Review Editor reviews content and marks changes. It is returned to con- sai erestors ac elite logy ane ‘Gia eh ges re maida (estat st jrivent tal Web tear Ex ay loading and layout according to branded Web standards | urLoaven ro wee Editor previews content, graphics and branding, and requests Deel scueouteo any final changes necessary. Then s/he schedules for publication. : In this scenario, most of the responsibility falls to the editor, who coordinates content creators and over: sees the smooth operation of the blog. W Each month, writers email their ideas for the next month tothe ed- J CONTENT WRITTEN itor. The editor then Skypes each writer to discuss and refine ideas. GRAPHICS Writers work independently to develop content, including re- GRORHICE og search, fact-checks, and graphics. Writers upload content to website, then notify editor that they are jill UrLoapeD To wes complete.. Editor reviews content, marks changes, and notifies writer that EDITOR AEVIEW: edits aranceded. ‘Writer has one week to respond to and/or complete edits. EDITS MADE Editor completes SEO, branding and other issues, and schedules i scueouLen publication. J ‘Will you publish each day/week, once or twice a week, or once or twice amonth? Frequent publishing means you don't have time for a lot of reviews and approvals. It may also require monthly or weekly planning meetings to keep a steady flow of good ideas. Will you write long educational posts or short newsjacking posts? Ifyou want your posts to be reviewed by subject matter experts and other stakeholders, youl need more lead time to produce contant, which means newsjacking may not be for you. On the other hand, if you want to create a lot of timely, relevant content, you'll need to give your writ- ters freedom to publish quickly with fower reviews, Create a workflow that allows the speed and quality control that works for your brand. How many content creators do you have? Ifyou have a team of content creators, you can spread the work load, which means you ean pro- duce more content, more quickly, or hold fewer planning meetings. OTE: THERE |S NO ‘Some brands publish daily. ‘Their routine is to plan one week at a time, then write and publish content on the day it goes live, Other brands publish once a week. ‘They hold a planning session ones a quarter to loosely plan the topics that will be covered. Then. ‘once a month, they set aside a week to review and produce the next month’s content. Some brands publish only once or twice a month. They plan in six-month chunks, and content is written as the publication date nears. The choice is yours, and it depends on your priorities and how your workflow is organized. ‘At this point, you've made all the preliminary decisions needed to effectively ran your content marketing. You have your ream in place W You have-a workflow for getting content produced in the most effective way possible You know how long it takes 10 ereate each type of content, so you know houw far in advance you need to plan for each piece. ‘You're ready to plan your content for the next few weeks or months. PLAN CONTENT THAT WILL BUILD READER ENGAGEMENT. @ OPTIMIZE THE |DEA TO MEET YOUR BUSINESS OBJECTIVES.